If you're like me, there are times when sleep just doesn't come easily. Our brains sometimes don't want to "turn off" and take a rest, even if our bodies do.
There are some nights when we glance at the clock hopefully, thinking perhaps we have drifted off to sleep and it's almost morning . . . only to realize that it's just a few minutes since we last checked.
Even King David must have had this problem. He mentions the night watches - most people say that the first two watches are before midnight, and the third is from midnight 'til 3am. The fourth and final watch is from 3am to 6am.
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate
on your promises. (Psalm 119:148)
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the
night. (Psalm 63:6)
I wonder if sometimes we are kept awake because we are fretting over something that we should have turned over to the Lord?
Are we tossing and turning because we don't have the peace He promised?
...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Or is this a special time that can be turned toward Him? Can we use our sleepless times as periods of thanksgiving, and of supplication? Can we think on His blessings and praise Him? Can we think of others that we know of, and pray intercessory prayers for them? We may know of some that are close to us, or we may know of others who are far away, and perhaps we know of their needs because of a blog like this one.
Think of people that need His love. Think of some that don't yet believe. Think of some that need His healing.
Lift these up in prayer, and thank Him in advance for what He will do.
Do you have a prayer request or a praise that you can share today?
I am very thankful today for the relay for life this pass weekend. It was a moving time for all the survivors and for all the ones who lost their battle with cancer. It was dedicated to a young lady that was so special. She passed away three months ago. She was 39 and left behind a husband and two children 13 and 11. So sad.
ReplyDeleteI am 11 years cancer free. Now that my husband and I are retired I hope to become more involved in the relay.
I know what you mean laying awake hours in the night. Maybe God is giving us the time to lay there and spend with him. Life seems so busy that sometimes we forget to take that time for him.
Lately, I've felt a burden to pray for my nephew and his family. He attended Christian school all his life, but he is not active as an adult and his children are not being taken to church. I reached out to him in a message, telling him I felt the need to talk to him about it but he never responded. He lives across the country from me and I felt that was the best way to approach the topic. Please help me pray that he will be convicted to do something about his children's salvation. I doubt his wife is saved either.
ReplyDeleteA praise in that his sister who attended Christian school as well, has reached out to my daughter asking about her deep faith. She felt that "something was missing" from attending her church and wanted more. She has enrolled her son in the same school so she is moving in the right direction to be sure.
Still praying, still waiting on the Lord for answered prayer for the salvation of my son Noel. He too was raised in the Church. His head has the knowledge of what God says. But that knowledge has been buried underneath the lies that satan and the world tell.
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